By Rabbi Shalom M. Paltiel – Chabad of Port Washington, NY
I have been reading the various articles appearing on this forum regarding Gimmel Tammuz and our relationship with the Rebbe today, along with the many comments to them.
- Rosh Yeshiva’s opinion: Can We Talk About Our ‘Gimmel Tammuz’ Reality?
- Activist’s response: Honesty is Required in Our ‘Gimmel Tammuz’ Conversation
- Bochur’s perspective: I’m The Post Gimmel Tammuz Bochur You Speak Of…
I’ve been deeply moved and heartened by them. Regardless of the opinions being put forth, the fact that people care about this, let alone take the time to think about it and put their thoughts in writing, is special. Chassidim are precious.
Rabbi Manis Friedman enjoys describing how he envisions how Hashem will greet us, with all our flaws as a people, when Moshiach comes. Imagine a wife is at home awaiting her husband, and she’s preparing his dinner, with the hot soup already on the table. But he doesn’t come home. He doesn’t show up for 2000 years… What will he say when he finally comes home? You think he’ll complain that the soup is cold? He’ll be delighted there’s soup altogether, and that the kitchen table, the home and the family are still intact.
Applying this to our situation, when Chassidim haven’t seen the Rebbe in almost 30 years; an entire generation has been raised without the Rebbe’s physical presence. And yet the Rebbe remains at the center of the life of every Chosid, each on his or her own level and style of the Hiskashrus relationship. No two people are alike; certainly no two yiden and Chassidim are alike. But we’re having the conversation. Our children and grandchildren know they have a Rebbe. The soup might be a little chilly at times, but it’s definitely still on the table. WOW!
After Yud Shevat 5710 the Rebbe borrowed the phrase of Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi who said prior to his passing: “LEBONAI ANI TZORICH – I need my children (students)” applying those words to the Friediker Rebbe. Clearly the same applies to the Rebbe himself. He needs his children; and he’s got his children!
Another refrain from the Rebbe in the 5710 era was: “LO OZAV ES TZON MAR’ISO – he hasn’t forsaken his flock.” That’s certainly true today, as we all see the Rebbe’s guidance and miraculous blessings in our lives, including the miracle of the flame of Hiskashrus and Chassidishkeit being alive and well in the minds and hearts of our children and grandchildren. But I think we can humbly say the same in the reverse. His flock hasn’t c”v forsaken him, albeit in our own imperfect manner.
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I’d like to offer a practical suggestion I think can be helpful in this conversation:
Another refrain of the Rebbe’s in 5710 was: “DER REBBE HOT ALTZ BAVORENT – the (Friediker) Rebbe pre-empted everything.” The Rebbe insisted emphatically that a Faithful Shepperd like the Friediker Rebbe would never leave his flock wandering aimlessly c’v. He left nothing to chance; rather, he provided clear instruction and direction for us in this current situation, through his Sichos, Maamorim etc.
Surely the Rebbe did the same. As the oft-quoted words of the Rebbe about the FR: “POSAK HADIN AL ATZMO – he declared the same to be true of himself (when speaking of the Rabbeim that preceded him).” Well, surely the Rebbe too POSAK AL ATZMO… Surely he pre-empted all of our challenges. The question is only how to find this direction, buried amongst the myriads of the Rebbe’s writings and teachings.
Allow me to bring to your attention a very important publication that hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves, a publication that does exactly that: Collecting and organizing the Rebbe’s guidance on these important topics in a clear, concise manner. The small publication is called: “OD OVINU CHAI” compiled by Rabbi Yisroel Shmotkin, the Rebbe’s Shliach to Wisconsin, published originally in Hebrew, and recently translated into English.
The booklet is a comprehensive work on the Rebbe-Chasid relationship, all based strictly on the Rebbe’s own words in Sichos and Igros Kodesh. To my thinking it is a textbook on our relationship with the Rebbe. It takes a subject so sensitive and personal and deals with it head on. Issues normally left unspoken, traditionally relegated to “hergesh” (feelings) are dealt with in a lucid, enlightened fashion, and not skirted. Rather than remaining in the dark about such an important and central inyan, the reader can become empowered as they gain clarity. It is organized by subjects and sub-subjects, dealing with issue after issue.
Examples of a few questions it deals with: What is a Rebbe? Why is a Rebbe so important in terms of a Yid’s relationship to Hashem? Why is this so central to Yiddishkeit and Chassidus? How do we relate to the Rebbe now after Gimmel Tammuz? Where do we go from here? Plus the Rebbe’s guidance on the special mission of Dor Hashvi’I, the centrality and the promise of Moshiach Tzidkeinu in our generation, visiting the Ohel, and the list goes on.
I believe this booklet should be taught to our bochurim and girls in our Mesivtas and High Schools. True, in the past these things may have been left unspoken, but nothing can be taken for granted nowadays. And the Rebbe, perhaps pre-empting our times, did choose to address these issues openly and directly. Apparently, we need to give our children (and ourselves…) the HISKASHRUS in a fashion that can be explained and understood, making it part of our CHABA”D.
I discovered this booklet some years ago when it was first published, and it helped me and my family greatly in terms of navigating these confusing times. In reading and being deeply moved by the articles and comments on this forum, I felt the need to share this helpful tool with my fellow Chassidim. I have no involvement in this booklet’s publication or promotion. I am simply writing to you, one Chassid to another, to let you know about this gem which was hugely helpful to me personally.
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As the Tzemach Tzedek famously said, it will be “DI KINDER – the children” and “the Achdus of Chassidim” that will carry us to the Geulah. With all of us, DI KINDER, holding hands in true love, support and respect for one another, we will surely be zoche immediately to see the Rebbe’s vision and promise come to complete fruition, and we will march out of Galus led by our Rebbe to the Geula Shlaimah NOW!
Free PDF Download
To purchase the booklet click here.
Very well written and to offer practical solutions
PS I thought that Rabbi Gershon Avtzon’s article was very relevant and appropriate and the other responses just pinpointed one aspect and weren’t completely factually correcct.
Your point about Od Avinu Chai could not be more right…it is an amazing guide to the “mechanics” of hiskashrus in our times. More people should have it
All we need to know is that this future generation will continue spreading the message of Moshiach, Yechi Hamelech!
Hebrew and English
Thank you
See at bottom of the article
beautifully written well done!!!
truly special that chassidim are still caring about their rebbe!!!
Where can it be bought;
also by mail ?
See article
You can get it from kehos
this pamphlet must be taught to the next generation to keep chassidus chabad alive
So now we have 4 op-eds on today’s reality and not one of them addresses the sicha when the Rebbe directly addressed what we should do after gimel tamuz. How can this possibly be? Until someone discusses this head on, I don’t understand how the next generation can possibly gain clarity and learn what the Rebbe actually asked of us. Yeshiva’s hide this sicha from bochurim. it was never translated. It was buried in the hosofos. We must ask ourselves the question, why? It’s clear that at least one of the OP wasn’t even aware this sicha exists. The conversation… Read more »
Please tell us which sicha. Not everyone is aware of it. Interesting why you didn’t state which sicha in your comment.
Here’s a link to the sicha in audio and in print:
https://www.chabad.org/therebbe/sichoskodesh_cdo/year/5748/month/12/day/3/cat//x/35/y/15
2 Adar 5748
Sicha of 2 Adar 5748
Beautiful article! Another great publication that helps tremendously in this area is the Chassidisher Derher magazine. I highly recommend it for whoever doesn’t yet get it.
The booklet is a treasure.
It available in the Kehos store and on their website
https://store.kehotonline.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ERE-ODAV
It’s a very special sicha- I feel it encapsulates everything so well
Within nature we need to find our miracle
Meaning we need to discover our own breakthroughs for geulla – we have no one to blame- it’s deep work…
5751